The drive from Invercargill to Dunedin brought more exceptional coastline, rolling hills, impossibly picture-postcard-perfect views of sheep everywhere and today – for the first time – we encountered RAIN! (well it drizzled for a while his morning).
We took about 6 hours to drive 200 odd kms – along the coast road – and stopped at 5 places out of the 17 recommended in the Catlins scenic heritage trail brochure. We saw a seal sleeping in the tussocks at Waipapa point, skipped Slope Point (the southernmost point of NZ) as it was raining, visited Curio Bay and saw a fossilised forest and a single (rare) yellow-eyed penguin, then drove on to McLean Falls. I’m not easily impressed by waterfalls (comes of growing up in Far North Queensland) but these were quite pretty. Then on to Nugget Point where we saw an elephant seal sunning himself on the most beautiful beach I’ve seen…and through Kaka Point (lovely seaside village) back to Highway 1 and Dunedin.
We’re back in the big smoke now – motorways and traffic – but a quick walking tour tonight has given us more than enough ideas to fill the next few days. L
The Obligatory Blog 